Driving means for centrifugal bowls



Patented Dec. 11, 1923.

MEREDITH Larson, Dnc-Essen, on roUGHKEnP Pi-TE i .if

Inmw YORK; :BY LUCYr BUR;

RUSS LEITCH, ADMINISTRATRIX, MONTGOMERY, ALABATL.; ASSIGNOR TO THE .DE LAVAL SEPABATOR lCOMPANY,'GF NEW YOBK,KN. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

DRIVING MEANS Forv CENTRIFUCQAL BoWLs.

Appiicauoa sied iieeefniier 6, 192e. serial No. 428,449.

To all whom it 'may concemr..

ceased, .late al citizen of theUnited States, residing his lifetime invent certain newland rvuseful Improvements; in Driving Means. gtoiz.` Centrifugal Bowls, of which the followingis-aV full, clear, and exact description, referencebeing;l had to the accompanyingv drawings, whichform a part. of, this specification. l.

Thisinvention relates to themounting of centrifugal. bowls on, andldigiving them by, the .spindles of. their, machines. i

AIf .there `is any .deviation from ,true run-Y ning ofthe necli of a bogwleither because the bowlxis eccentric with the spindle .or because it isoutof alignment wviththespinplle, the .1 ratobetween the cream andtheslcim milk4 willfchange and hence change the density of the cream.y

tionof the upper end of the spindle to lform a member which, ,incombinationlwith a mating-"member in the bowh actsas a. positive,l

jawl clutch; This. method is opento, twoy serious objections." YhIl the lbowl is, placedon the. spindle it lmust, bei: carefully turned arounduntil the clutch engages, and because. of unavoidable E irregularities in inanuac-.`

ture, the clutch has atendencygto iforcer the bowl out of conceiitricitylV with Ithespndle and causeroughrunning. v`This latter is a condition that increaseswith the wearl re-` sultant from .longignse Forms .of clutch have been. '.invented, which f theoretically equalize ,the drive, but in practice, they have. been found tol ewentually causeieccentricity...

A, vless .cominon, means, forv ,driving @the bowl .isto piovide..a.lpng taperon the `u p'-` perfpoition or" Ithe spindleand provide in.. the bowl socket'ot asimilar taper into.

which Athe spindle :u ieclgeatightly. This method is objectionable because, when the.

bowlistalen out oflthe machine tor wash?,

ing,f.`the 'spindle must ybe taken iwith .it and then Vdriven out vofthe bowl, lThe `spindle is liable ,to .be ,sprung oiq-have.. the bearings marred dnringthis operation..

ing nieansfwherein 'therei will., he no possi.-y bility o'f eccentricity ot' the bowl to the spinat VPoughkeepfsie, countyayo Dutchess, .and State ofA IYew York, did .in-`

an eiiicient supporting and driving eonnee-y tion betweentthe spindleyand'bowl without insure theprovision andmaintenance of i the4 necessity of constructing such drivingV connection with ideal accuracy; so that either unavoidableirregularities in y manufacture on the one hand, or anintentionah,

. but easily obtainable, departure Afrom exact.`

ton the other hand, will-not-.al'feot the eiciency and durability of the supporting and driving connection: thus providinga construction which can be manufacturedwvithout high skill or. extreme care andv hence one thatfwill be comparatively inexpensive to make.

Bowl supporting` and drivingmeansrac-f complishing all the foregoing` objects except the lasthas` been e devised by theiiiventor. and may beutiliz-ed, but not indispensably', an element ofthe present invention.- Such objectsareA accomplished 'by providing ytheupper. end ot the spindle with a taper in-v rigjid concentric relation therewith,v and-by providing in the bowl a. rustrofconical socket adapted to saidtaper, and by inclin- -iiig the engaging' walls ol" the -taperand socket at so great an angle to the axis of. ro-

tation o'i the bowl that the spindle willfnot seize therein :and yetat so small an 'angle with .said axis of rotation thatthexweight of the bowly will cause sufficient friction to.

vdrive thebowl.y lnspecifyingthatthe spiny die shall not seize.l inthebowl socket, the

-word fseize is used in the. relativesense in which it is used. inthe art,nainely;V to exf-x j press a ,wedgingy actionA between `.thespindle and bowl socket .such l,that thespindlefvmust.

be ,forcibly driven .out of i the bowl, asAY diss. inguished froma case where, with onlygrelatively.V slight.` resistance to movementA off- .the l.

spindle with the bowl, t-he bowl may be easily Ythe spindle in non-rigid relation therewith and which might be held on the spindle by Va pin-and-slot connection or other connec- Y tion, which, inherently, cannot be made so nearly perfect that it will be necessarily con-4 centric withV the -axis of the spindle, or which, `if assumed to be originally concentric, cannot ,maintain that concentricity in operation. in other words, the formation is contemplated cfa taper which shall be 'inv rigid relation with thel spindle, preferably on the spindle itself, thereby avoiding all possibility or" the eccentricity that it 'is sought to prevent. rlhe narrow range oil angularity above specified is capable of exn act calculationv by the skilled artisan or engineer, as applied to any given'weight of bowls. For example, in very small light bowls the included angle ot the cone may be as little astwelve degrees while for large he'a'vy'bowlgitI 'mayrneed to be, as wide as twenty degrees. Y y

While this construction is operative, both technically and commercially, and is, perhaps, an idealconstruction, it is open to the objection that great careV and skill. are required in insure accuracy in the. formation ot both the socket and the cone, an exact correspondence ofr the angles ot taper oi both members to the axis ot rotation' being practically'necessary,or at least highly desirable,

to insure proper operation throughout the' life o'f the structure. The inventor has discovered that if a guide, or centering or steadying portion, is provided at a substantial distance ii'rom the conical support, it is not necessary that the angles ot the cone and socket shall be'the same. In View of the difficulty and expense of insuring an exact Vcorrespondence, it is desirable to deliberately make the angle of the Vsocket slightly less than that of the cone, so that initial contact will be toward the lower end of the cone at or near its largest diameter, thus giving driving effect as great as possible. The angle of the socket may be actually greater than that of the cone, but this is un-Y desirable because Ythe initial contact will then bey at the smallestdia-meter ot the cone, thus securing a minimum. driving effect. Such a condition may actually be produced ii it is sought to make the angles exactly coincident, wherefore it is desirable, as above stated, to purposely make the angle of the socket slightly less than that of the cone. It is understood, however, that even it the angles of the 'two Vengaging members correspend, or it is'sought to make them correspond, spaced apart centering or steadying portion is of substantial advantage. s a matter of practical manufacture, it is desirablethat the included shall vary 'freni a fraction of one degree to as much as several degrees less than `that of the cone. This makespthe manufacture comparatively easy and cheap.

When in use a small portion Vofthe lower 4 part ofthe socket will soon exactly fit the cone. In the accompanying drawings which show an embodiment of this invention:

Fig. l shows, partially in vcross-section, va vcentrifugal bo-wl, part of' the spindle on which it is mounted, and part of the frame of the machine. Y

Fig. 2 shows, on a larger scale, the upperV part of the spindle, andthe ladjacent parts of thel bowl.

c is a bowl spindle supported in the usual bearings. It may be'` driven by the usual gearing. At the upper` end of the spindle is a portion tapered at an angle'only blunt enough to prevent seizing. Below the.` taper portion the .spindle has a cylindrical the socket f, so as to insure-engagement of the spindle atthe tapered portion and at the steadying portion; g is a part of the iframe of the machine. '7L is a stop the provision or" the additional.V

At a substantiatdisscrew which projects inside the frame abo-ve a limit z' on'the spindle. 'i

In ordinary operation thespindle a re-Y mains in the frame at alltimes.` When itV is desired to use the machine, the bowl is placed over the spindle, and its owny weight'carries it down, guided .by the busha ing, till the lower vpart of the socket engages the taper.Y When it isV desired to wash the bowl, a quick upward pull will lift the bowl and spindle until the. collar z' comes in contact with Athe screw h, when the spindle will `stop and the'bowl will be. disengaged and may be carried to any convenient place for washing.

Havingv nowfully described this inven-` tion, what is claimed and desired to be'protected by-Letters Patent isi- Y l. Driving means for acentrifugal'bowl comprising a `centrally disposed spindle socket in the bowl, said socket having a conically tapered wall, and a bowl spindle having a conically tapered portion to engag-ref the'y conicallyf,tapereiili socket, the angles'of said tapers to the axis of rotation vbeing" nearlypblut not precisely,4 the same,

thetapered faces ofthe engaging members adapted to Contact along av` circumferential line so thatin use wear will'provide'v a cir.-

vcumferential zone of driving contact of ap-i preciable area.

217 A centrifugal machinenhaving" a "bowl"` with a spindle socket therein, said socket Aing, but being slightly greater than, the

the angle of taper of the socket to the axis of rotation, whereby an initial circumferential driving' contact between the spindle and cone may be provided at larger diameter portions of spindle and cone.

l. A centrifugal machine having a bowl with a centrally disposed spindle. socket having an upper conical portion and a lower steadying portion, and a spindle adapted for engagement with the lower steadying portion of the socket and provided with a conical portion for engagement with the conical seating portion of the socket1 the conical portion of the spindle having a taper of measurably greater angle to the axis of rotation than the tape-r of the conical portion of the socket.

A centrifugal machine having a bowl with a centrally disposed spindle socket therein,y said .socket having a conical seating portion and a cylindrical steadying portion, and a spindle having a cylindrical portion for engagement with the cylindrical steadying portion of the socket and a conical portion for engagement with the conical seating portion of the socket, the conical portions of the spindle and socket having closely approximating but differ-ent angles of taper and being in circumferential driving contact at a substantial distance from the axes of rotation.

6. A centrifugal machine having a bowl with a centrally disposed spindle socket therein, said socket having a conical seating portion and a cylindrical steadying portion, and a spindle having a cylindrical portion for engagement with the cylindrical steadying portion of the socket and a conical portion for engagement with the conical seating portion of the socket` the conical portion of the spindle having a taper of measurably cal porti on' for" engagement with socket l and having v -an i of ,taper to the Aa"zxi's, ofj rotation melasurabflytgreater At an thefangle `oftap'erof thel socketl soP a'st suredriv,

velyv me" Conte'tf. throi'ght" a rela, circuni` ference the'fbowl havingv also@ 'jsY ac frle; Seid Secte-tta". .Cylimleel Stendal@ portion, andthe Aspind'le having 'a cylindfical portion engaging said cylindrical steadying portion of the bowl but clear of the bowl between said steadying portion and socket.

8. A centrifugal machine comprising a vertical bowl and a vertical rotatable spindle for supporting and rotating the bowl, the bowl having a conically tapered socket, and at a substantial distance below it a cylindrically bored guide bushing, the spindle having rigid therewith a conical socket engaging member of a Greater taper than the socket, providing a friction clutch surface engaging the lower part of the socket and below the cone a cylindrical surface adapted to engage the bushing in the bowl, the angle of the cone to the axis of rotation being sharp enough to insure sufficient friction, by reason of the weight of the bowl, to cause the bowl to be held in driving engagement with the spindle but great enough to prevent seizure and thus permit the bowl to be readily lifted off the spindle when vertical movement is resisted.

9. A centrifugal machine comprising a rotatable bowl and a vertical rotatable spindle for supporting and rotating the bowl, the bowl having a tapered socket and the spindle having rigid therewith a conical socket engaging member providing a friced c tion clutch surface engaging the socket, the

angle of the socket and cone to the axis of rotation being sharp eno-ugh to insuresufricient friction, by reason of the weight of the bowl, to cause the bowl to be held in driving engagement with the spindle but great enough to prevent seizure and thus permit the bowl to be readily lifted off the shaft when vertical movement is resisted, thc opposing faces of the socket and socketengaging member to the axis of rotation being nearly, but not precisely, the saine and adapted to contact along a circumferential line so that in use wear will provide a circumferential zone of driving contact of substantial area.

l0. A centrifugal machine comprising a rotatable bowl and a vertical rotatable spindle for supporting and rotating the bowl, the bowl having a tapered socket and the spindle having rigid therewith a conical socket engaging member providing a friction clutch surface engaging the socket,

the angle of the socket and cone to the axis of rotation being` sharp enough to insure sufficient friction, byvreason of the Weight of the bowl, to cause the bowl to loe held in driving engagement with tlie spindle but great enough to prevent seizure and thus permit the ubowl to be readily lifted oil the shaft when vertical movement isresisted. the angle of vtaper to the axis of rotation ofthe opposing face of the socket-engaging member closely approximatingbut being slightly greater'tlian, the angle of taper to the axis of rotation of tlie socket, Where by an initial circumferential driving con met between the spindle and bowl sockel may be provided at larger diameter portions of the opposing faces and facilitate the provision, Clue to Wear in use,'o f a eirenmfen ential Zone of driving Contact of substantial In testimony of which invention, I liaveV hereunto set iny'hancl, at Montgomery, on this 27 Clay of November, 1920., l

LUCY BUR-RUSS LEITCH. Adfr/w'm'stmtm'ft of the Estate Yof Meredith Letto/71.1, Deceased. 

